Upgrade of my computer within the next couple of days.

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dragonwolf8504

dragonwolf8504

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I figured I would ask the great users here on their opinions for this.

Looking at upgrading my computer within the next couple of days.

What I use the computer for: Gaming, Audio/Video Editing, Audio creation, Movie Watching, Web Browsing.

Games I play: Command and Conquer 3 and Red Alert 3, Sims 2 and 3, Minecraft, Terraria, Starbound, Xcom, Diablo III w/ expansion, Torchlight 1 and 2, Saint's Row 3 and 4, Simcity 2013, 3 and 4, Borderlands 1 and 2, Bioshock (all), Tropico 4, Marvel Heroes, Just Cause 2 and will a lot of different ones I guess. I get the itch to play other shooters too from time to time.

Max budget of: $800 but would prefer to keep it low as possible. I don't think I need the highest end components.

Place of ordering: Amazon since I have Prime I might as well take advantage of it. Also have a little bit in giftcard on there waiting to be used.


My Current system specs:
CPU: AMD FX-6300 3.5GHz 6-Core Processor
Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO
Motherboard: Asus M5A99X EVO R2.0 ATX AM3+ Motherboard
Memory: Kingston HyperX 16GB (4 x 4GB) PC3-12800 Memory
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive
Storage: Seagate 3TB 7,200RPM HDD
Video Card: Gigabyte Radeon R9 270 2GB WINDFORCE Video Card (Factory OC'ed to 950MHZ (975MHZ Boost) core)
Case: NZXT Phantom 410 (Red) ATX Mid Tower Case
Power Supply: Corsair CX 600W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply
Optical Drive: Samsung SH-224DB/BEBE DVD/CD Writer
4x 120MM Fans
3x 140MM Fans
Monitor: Samsung 24" LED IPS display with HDMI and VGA inputs.
Corsair K70 Gaming keyboard
Logitech G700s gaming mouse

EDIT:
The fans are setup as such:
2x 120MM front intake blowing onto the HDD's and into the case
1x 120MM mid, blowing air from the front intake onto the gpu just past the HDD cages
1x 140MM side case fan as intake over all the pci-e slots including the gpu
1x 120MM rear exhaust fan
2x 140MM top exhaust fans

My Evo 212+ cpu cooler is setup as a pull with is sucking air away from the cooler and blowing it directly out through the rear 120MM exhaust.


I have clearance for a 230mm- 280MM GPU (if that's upgraded, and that's 9-11 inches just in case that's needed) I could take out a fan to make it 305MM (12 inches) but would prefer not to.

I am open to upgrading my psu if needed to power the new components (no idea on power requirements until I have an idea of what to go to.) My psu has 2x 6/8 pin pci-e power adapters and has a 46A/552W +12V rail and being 80% Bronze Cert.

I would like something that will tide me over for awhile and is pretty "future-proof" for gaming. I know a future-proof computer is an oxymoron, but something that will last me a long time while gaming at 1080p and at "High" settings. Maybe a year or 2.


I am more partial to Nvidia, but not a fanboy and will go with best bang for buck and built this rig new when I was on a budget and NEEDED something quick. Now my budget opened up more and it's time for a summer upgrade! So what to upgrade?

If I missed anything, please don't hesitate to chime in. I'll be monitoring this thread from time to time so that I may start making my order.

 
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dragonwolf8504

dragonwolf8504

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What I listed is current computer, I'm looking at possibly upgrading some parts and keeping it within $800 budget, preferably less depending on if certain upgrades won't net me a performance boost. I want to get as much fps now as possible without breaking the bank and having a balanced upgrade now so I am pretty good for the future. (I know I won't be perfect but whatever I can get with my budget.)
 
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dragonwolf8504

dragonwolf8504

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Ok what would you suggest? I'm open to just a few upgrades. Heck means more money in my pocket! Just worried my current cpu may bottleneck too high of a gpu. But I guess that just depends on what it is huh?
 
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Icaraeus

Icaraeus

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Only thing I would do is change the PSU, add a SSD and if you want to play games (above 1080p) get a new GPU. There is absolutely no reason otherwise to change your GPU so soon. It hasn't even been out close to a year yet. Your computer is already more than capable until 2016.
 
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dragonwolf8504

dragonwolf8504

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Would the current cooler work for any OC that would allow the cpu to run the higher gpu's? Or would there still be a bottleneck? What would the OC really gain me? Sorry but I usually don't OC and only planned on a possible OC as a life expander. So a little more learning has to be done on my part there. lol
 
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iceclock

iceclock

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well u can always skip the liquid cooling and get a 8core cpu prob would work.

this is what i came up with

[PCPartPicker part list](http://pcpartpicker.com/p/nH6FK8) / [Price breakdown by merchant](http://pcpartpicker.com/p/nH6FK8/by_merchant/)

Type|Item|Price
:----|:----|:----
**CPU** | [AMD FX-8320 3.5GHz 8-Core Processor](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/amd-cpu-fd8320frhkbox) | $139.99 @ SuperBiiz
**Storage** | [Samsung 840 EVO 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/samsung-internal-hard-drive-mz7te250lw) | $144.99 @ Amazon
**Video Card** | [XFX Radeon R9 290 4GB Double Dissipation Video Card](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/xfx-video-card-r9290aedfd) | $369.99 @ NCIX US
**Power Supply** | [EVGA SuperNOVA NEX 750W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/evga-power-supply-120g10750xr) | $89.99 @ Newegg
| | **Total**
| Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available | $744.96
 
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dragonwolf8504

dragonwolf8504

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I was thinking something along the lines of:

http://www.amazon.com/EVGA-SuperNOVA-80PLUS-Certified-220-G2-0850-XR/dp/B00IKDETOC/ref=cm_cr_pr_pb_t

for the psu

http://www.amazon.com/EVGA-GeForce-SuperClocked-Graphics-02G-P4-2774-KR/dp/B00CZIQXBA/ref=pd_cp_pc_0

for the gpu

and

http://www.amazon.com/Crucial-240GB-2-5-Inch-Internal-CT240M500SSD1/dp/B00BQ8RM1A/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1403407613&sr=1-1&keywords=crucial+m500

for a SSD

I picked the SSD because I have had m500's in all my other computers and they have been very reliable.

PSU and GPU seemed to be a decent path with the psu having the possiblity of SLI, my mobo supports xfire and sli.

I may just need to upgrade the cpu to an 8-core fx when I decide to sli though.

Thoughts?
 
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dragonwolf8504

dragonwolf8504

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Read posting above and now I have another question, is there anything wrong with my current psu? Especially if I maybe just upgrade to a GTX 770 and add in the SSD. I've only had the current psu for about 4 months, and as far as I know it's not overloaded with what I have. Far be it for me to question a psu upgrade as I know those are like the heart (a weak psu equals a unstable computer or fried computer.) But would I be able to make my psu last a bit longer? My fans would draw less than 30W at peak from what I figured, but I usually have the case controller at it's lowest speed settings which is like 1/3 speed I think. Plus the controller is 30W max so I know I need to watch it. The speed switch it like 33%/66%/100%. I could always pull a fan out though to help not to mention I may need to pull the middle one out to fit a better gpu. I prefer Nvidia cards as I've noticed that it seems most of my games are 'Optimized' for Nvidia over AMD (sadly). Minecraft for instance will push my current R9 270OC to about 160fps, but it loves to drop down to about 30 fps or less most of the time. I have a laptop with 2x 2GB Nvidia GT 755M's in SLI and Minecraft isn't SLI capable and it blows my desktop out of the water on fps. (200+!) I have it set to the same graphics settings as well. I play minecraft a lot and have a server as well (hosted as my internet isn't fast enough) Of course the laptop has an i7-4700MQ 2.4GHZ, but still that's a mobile cpu. I can't figure that one out. Other than in point, most of my games seem to run better on Nvidia. I would even dare to say that the GTX 760 would do me good as well, as SLI is a little better and stable than xfire. I could always SLI another GTX 760 later when I catch one on sale. But if I can go a GTX 770 it might not be a bad idea. :)

Added this to the main post: was the current fan setup. But I will copy/paste it here as well for convenience.

The fans are setup as such:
2x 120MM front intake blowing onto the HDD's and into the case
1x 120MM mid, blowing air from the front intake onto the gpu just past the HDD cages
1x 140MM side case fan as intake over all the pci-e slots including the gpu
1x 120MM rear exhaust fan
2x 140MM top exhaust fans

My Evo 212+ cpu cooler is setup as a pull with is sucking air away from the cooler and blowing it directly out through the rear 120MM exhaust.
 
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iceclock

iceclock

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yes u can keep your current powersupply.

if anything id get this the 290 is nice but if u prefer nvidia will do very good also.

this solution would work also.

[PCPartPicker part list](http://pcpartpicker.com/p/dnMxbv) / [Price breakdown by merchant](http://pcpartpicker.com/p/dnMxbv/by_merchant/)

Type|Item|Price
:----|:----|:----
**CPU** | [AMD FX-8320 3.5GHz 8-Core Processor](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/amd-cpu-fd8320frhkbox) | $139.99 @ SuperBiiz
**Storage** | [Samsung 840 EVO 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/samsung-internal-hard-drive-mz7te250lw) | $144.99 @ Amazon
**Video Card** | [PNY GeForce GTX 770 4GB Video Card](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/pny-video-card-vcggtx7704xpboc) | $358.99 @ Amazon
| | **Total**
| Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available | $643.97


 
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dragonwolf8504

dragonwolf8504

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Cool, my thoughts though is how much will the 8-core fx net me? Will it be noticable? I know the gpu should be an upgrade over my old one, I want to upgrade but only if it's going to be noticable. I have a faint suspicion I may not even be fully utilizing my current cpu even when gaming. (I don't know for sure, but an FX 4- core may have been fine for gaming for me. It's nice to the extra cores though! ) Would the FX-6300 I have now bottleneck a GTX 770 if so by how much? If not I may keep the FX-6300 for now, but I know what to do later on!

I am kind of stuck on the 8-core cpu's though too, so it's a toughy. Do I upgrade to it now or wait and see if AMD releases something new within this year that may work with my mobo? Then again maybe wait a little while longer then upgrade to the 8-core FX. I was under the impression that the mobo I got was a fairly decent one for upgrade paths down the road. There are so many options really and I am just tossing ideas around. I feel that the need to add an SSD in is there. Heh, and a good possibility to upgrade the gpu to something Nvidia preferably. But I guess I will take a look at the R9 290 as well. Thing is it seems a lot of people have problems with Minecraft and low fps with any of the R series no matter how powerful the gpu is. And that is kind of a dealbreaker for me, if I'm gonna go with a higher end gpu it's gotta play ALL my games at higher fps. I'll keep looking up stuff on the R9 290 to see if things improved for it as it does seem to be most power for buck. But I really want a good balance. Minecraft is actually an important part of my gaming.

Any more suggestions, comments, whatnot I'm up to discussion.
 
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iceclock

iceclock

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id say if ur not comfortable. with overclocking get the 8c0re and overclock it id say.

and amd aint releasing any new cpus worthy for 990fx this year.

and the 770 will be sweet u want that 4 gig version because games are starting to use more than 2 gigs of videomemory

 
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dragonwolf8504

dragonwolf8504

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Ok, sounds good, at least I can keep my mobo and cooler for awhile. I'm not new to repasting either so it won't be too tough of an upgrade! I think I may have some cleaner and stuff for the respate that will happen with the cpu upgrade.

It's just hard to compare gpu's and cpu's really. Benchmarks are one thing, real world use is a whole other beast. Something may look good on paper and yet certain games may not like it, or it doesn't like certain games in an ideal world I'd have both gpus, AMD for games that AMD plays better, and Nvidia for games that play better on Nvidia. Just like I'm not a Sony ps3/4 or xbox 360/ one fan, I'll take everything please! lol
 
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iceclock

iceclock

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u wanna use CPU thermal compound requires an organic (read: hydrocarbon-based) solvent to dissolve. The less water the solvents have, the better, as water is inorganic and will not dissolve thermal compound. Hydrocarbon and alcohol-based solvents with 10-15% or less water by volume work well. Apply the solvent to something lint-free like a cloth or coffee filter and then rub off the thermal compound. A good solvent will make the thermal paste dissolve quickly and rub off very easily.

My favorite solvent for removing thermal compound is 91% rubbing alcohol (9% water.) It stinks a lot less than most other organic solvents, it works very well, and a pint of it costs about a dollar at most drugstores. A pint will be enough to remove thermal paste from dozens and dozens of heatsinks. Most running alcohol is 71% alcohol/29% water and does not remove thermal paste very well, so specifically look for the 91% stuff.

and http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIA4DA1GN6641&cm_re=thermal_paste-_-35-100-007-_-Product

overall the 770 seems to have less issues than the 290 i know they had thermal issues.

usually i get the gpu with overall best game performance

 
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dragonwolf8504

dragonwolf8504

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Here is an idea on what I have decided to go with:

AMD FX-8320 as you suggested
Keep the 16GB Ram I have now: 2x sets of http://www.amazon.com/dp/B008XQEQT4/?tag=pcpapi-20
Mobo- keep my current

EVGA GTX 770- http://www.amazon.com/EVGA-GeForce-SuperClocked-Graphics-02G-P4-2774-KR/dp/B00CZIQXBA/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1403487231&sr=8-1&keywords=GTX+770

SSD- http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00BQ8RM1A/ref=ox_sc_act_title_6?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER

I figure I could sell off any of my old stuff to help get some money back. Once I know everything is stable

Would I be ok with my current PSU with this setup or would you suggest an upgrade on the PSU

 
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